The Boxer's Heart: How I Fell in Love with the Ring

by Kate Sekules

"I fought to shake things up, to play with the world. If I--sometime bookworm, singer in a band, Londoner, magazine editor, fiction writer, hotel and restaurant critic, softball addict, Caucasian of mixed heritage, pony-mad child, expatriate--could become a convincing pugilist, then anything under the sun is possible."

So says Kate Sekules, the author of this brilliantly candid memoir and first-ever guide to the world of women's boxing. The story of how an averagely talented athlete converted her visceral dislike of violence into a short but eventful career as a professional boxer makes irresistible reading for both fans and foes of what used to be "The Manly Art."
        After growing up in London during the seventies and eighties, Sekules hit New York in 1992 and quickly happened upon something she hadn't realized she was seeking. In the mirror-lined gyms of SoHo and later at Gleason's Gym--the famous training ground of world champion boxers--she found herself in the right place at the right time to participate in the birth of a movement and an astonishing new direction for women. Sekules explains the mysteries of this most mythologized of sports and introduces the reader to trainers and fighters both famous and obscure, both male and female. With razor-sharp insight, she dissects her conflicting feelings on approaching the prize-fighting ring, drawing the reader in every step of the way.
        Sekules's account unfolds with the pace and depth of a great novel, crammed with larger-than-life characters and piercing observations about matters that concern us the nature of masculinity and femininity; love and conflict in the ring and in relationships; trust, fear, pain, and the uses of aggression. Along the way, the author casts new light on the confused state of gender roles today, deals a death blow to issues of weight that have plagued women for decades, recounts the secret history of women in the ring, and delivers a primer on how to box--all in a fresh, conspiratorial, and highly entertaining voice.
        Any woman who has grappled with anger and trust, been nagged by insecurity at the gym, or wondered what it feels like to throw a punch will identify with this witty and honest author's experience. Any man who has imagined stepping into the ring, or been baffled by the mysteries of the female, will want to add this one-of-a-kind to his shelf of sports books. It is a remarkable literary debut--with a very big heart.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2000

Reviews

[Izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sekules wrestles with the sport, the sexism, the violence, the ugliness. And yet, I don't feel as if I know anything about her...really. Sometimes I was annoyed with the author, as I annoy myself when I get trapped in my head and think my way into circles. And that's how reading this book sometimes felt--like you're reading in circles.

Sekules wrestles with being a woman with what she perceives to be an imperfect form. How many of us are unhappy with our bodies and skulk to the gym in search of health [PERFECTION]? She fights the energy that sucks up her time with body snarking/comparing, counting calories. She fights the loneliness and her need for romantic connection. To need a man is to be weak and lady boxers...taking punches to the face can not be weak.

A sometimes rambling but rumbling account of a women's adventures in professional boxing when women were still very un-welcomed. Her strengths are the fight scenes written with great speed and timing--just as a great boxer should move about the ring.

Recently, I started boxing again. Sweating my way through sloppy combinations, feeling the power of my body, the potential for athleticism and the severe exhaustion. I am not in fighting shape.

I fool myself into thinking it will get easier. In the gym, easy will always mean I'm not working hard enough, pushing, breaking a personal barrier. It'll be right there in front of me. There's no cheating. My body will not throw another punch without practice. My hands won't support another push up, my thighs another squat.

Before I read this book, I thought I was boxing to lose weight, make running easier. Achieve my vision of perfection. Now I'm not sure who or what I'm fighting. I'm not sure that Sekules knew either. If she does know now, she aint talking.

[Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It surprised me how much. Kate Sekules' insights gained by becoming a boxer were interesting and uplifting somehow.

[Lucky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably wouldn't have picked this up if I had noticed it was a reprint of a book first published 11 years ago. But, I'm so glad I did. This was a rare opportunity to read a book by an experienced journalist who was not just a dabbler in something for a year and then writes a book. Boxing was something the author pursued for a variety of reasons; but, I don't think any were so she could write a book about it, which makes this a refreshing addition to the memoir genre.

The timing is also perfect because the journalist in her provides a satisfying overview of the role of women in boxing and how the roads were paved in a way that lead to our first Olympics with women's boxing this summer (2012).

I really enjoyed this book. The balance between educating readers about the ins and outs of boxing are expertly weaved with her personal experience and she doesn't seem to hold back. The author has crafted a well written look into the boxing world without romanticizing or vilifying it. This is for fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really enjoyed this. I was expecting a very passionate story about nothing but fighting and the things that go into fighting, but I was pleasantly surprised to get more than that. Kate takes you in the ring, out of the ring, into the culture, into the media coverage of the culture, the wins, the losses, everything. She writes about aspects of boxing that I didn't even consider, like the men who have sexual fetishes about it and how punishing it is to prepare for a fight (if you're lucky enough to even get a good match up). Her insight, her emotional journey as well as her physical and mental transformation were intriguing to me. Some parts of it dragged though. There were just too many random names being thrown out there, too many stats that we're assumed to just know. I wish she'd written more about her own journey instead of making it one big story about the sport as a whole.

[Lala Hulse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the one that kicked off my books-about-boxing craze. I don't read about sports and I don't read memoirs, so who knows why I decided to pick up this book, other than I like boxing (well, kickboxing, actually). I ended up really enjoying it. She did a great job conveying, first of all, what hard work it is training to be a boxer, and how it affects other facets of your life and your interactions with people. She also goes into her experience as a female boxer and how female professional boxing works.

[Marilyn Robarts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great little book. It was given to me by a friend prior to my first fight. Kate comes from the outside and you are able to sink deeper into the real world of boxing right along side of her. This book came out at a time when there were so few of us competing that it was a balm to be able to relate to someone who understood the boxing community from a woman's perspective.

[Bax · Rating 4 out of 5]

I despise women's boxing on the professional level as a demeaning sideshow, no better than "celebrity" boxing.

But boxing is inherently fascinating, and the author's well-told tale of her love affair with the sport and her efforts to land a 'real' fight drew me in.

[Lindsay Eaton]

I couldn't believe it when I saw this book in the library - women's boxing - how fantastic. And I wasn't disappointed! Interesting and inspirational - a must-read for women who box or think they might like to. Thanks Kate - I just loved it.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

fascinating read about womens boxing written by a journalist. I want to try and read the Jane Couch one now if the library has that too!